The botanical garden

The botanical garden

The University’s Botanical Gardens are at the heart of Strasbourg and cover an area of 3.5 ha 1 km to the east of the athedral.

The current Botanical Garden dates from 1884 and include 6,000 plant species. A tropical greenhouse houses a collection of remarkable plants, including several palm trees, over two storeys. It is also home to several cycases perched atop rocks, covered on the south-facing side with bromeliads and on the north-facing side with ferns. In winter, a 207 sq. m cold house shelters more than 500 plant species from regions with warm winters: conifers from the Southern hemisphere, bulb plants and a collection of cacti and succulent plants.

Outside admire an Arboretum including some 2,200 trees and shrubs from all the temperate regions. Some of the most remarkable trees are: the Caucasian Wingnut, the Giant Sequoia and five Bald Cypresses, one of which, the Taxodium Ascendens is very rare in Europe.

The annual and herbaceous plants are classified by family in plots that we call the “System”.

Every Sunday afternoon (times depend on the season), a guided tour of the Botanical Gardens is offered to the general public, to allow you to delve into the diversity of the world of plants.

Science and technology, Botany

Type of place

Museum and planetarium

Parks and gardens

Price

Adult rate : 0

Child rate : 0

Group rate : 0

Free for children (age limit) : 6 ans

To be found in the gallery

Location

Picture gallery

An extraordinary collection of plants from all over the world. The Botanical gardens, dating from 1884, stretch over 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) 1 km (0.6 miles) east of the Cathedral, on the site of the original 1619 garden. The complex comprises sseveral buildings: the tropical glass house has two tiers of plants used for demonstration purposes (palms and banana plants …) and an artifical rock planted with cycads on the top, bromeliads on the south side and ferns on the north side. In the 207 square meter (246 square yard) conservatory grow over 500 species of plants native of regions with mild winters: conifers from the Southern hemisphere, bulbous plants, together with some of the carnivorous plants. Over 900 cacti and succulents are displayed in a gallery. In the outdoor garden, the “Arboretum” comprises 2,200 trees and shrubs from temperate regions throughout the world. The most remarkable trees are the pecan tree, the giant sequoia, 5 trees from the bald cypress family, among which the Taxodium ascendens, a rarity in Europe. Herbaceous plants are arranged by genera (families) in the “System”, a kind of family tree for plants.